Hidden Money Pocket

Orginal brand: October 2010

Build: 2016

Time to build: 1.5 hours

While I was at Wood Badge the staff had a brand and I just happened to have a piece of leather. The result was a great start to this slide. The front is the branded leather and the back is a piece of plastic from an empty orange juice container. I used a leather punch to make the holes and stitched it with some waxed thread. The extra tongue is tucked into the back to close the pocket.

This slide had been kicking around in my head for a while and I knew I wanted to do it in support of Wood Badge. For those who haven't taken it, there is a that can be learned but the real secret (even if you know the material) is it's a heck of a lot of fun! There will always be a special place in my heart for the Wood Badge Staff of NE-II-192, Camp Workcoeman, and the Bear Patrol. Thank you Connecticut Rivers Council for allowing me to be a part of the course.

Fungus

Picked up some time at Chesterfield Scout Reservation July 2010

Left to dry out and finally carved in the fall of 2016

Time to carve: 1.5 hours

Finishing: 2 hours






I had some time to think about these and I really was unsure have how I wanted to finish these looking at the original Whittlin Jim column. In the end, I decided to dedicate them to Chesterfield Scout Reservation and the Centennial year of Scouting (also the last year of Chesterfield  was summer camp).

Both came from a downed birch tree near Capico (ROPES, BLADES, FIRE) when I was looking for tinder fungus. Tinder fungus is a great fire starter for wilderness survival!
How to Start a Fire with a Mushroom

Bark Canoe

July 2010

Time to carve: 1.5 hours

Finishing: 1 hour





One of the last wood carving projects I remember seeing at Chesterfield Scout Reservation during summer camp was a slide I had carved just a few days before going to camp. It was really something for the Scouts the Troop to be carving the same slide the Scoutmaster was wearing. Carved from maple and roughed out with a saw. A couple of holes were drilled in the middle of the canoe for the neckerchief to pass through. Painted with craft paint and given a couple of coats of Poly.

Birch bark canoes, associated with Native American tribes, are truly a thing of beauty and amazing in their construction. A good cross section of one of these canoes can be found at Native American Technology and Art.

...the time is right.

Hello out there in the ether...Is there anyone still out there? Well the time is right and I have finished my quest completing all the Whittlin Jim slides I am aware of. In the next few weeks I going to blog the ones I've yet to blog. Sorry for making you wait but as I said before, I had to be happy with what I was creating. I also have a few of my own creations and a new generation of slide for a new era but more on that later...

Northwest Totem

End June - Early July 2011

Time to carve: 3.5 hours
Finishing: 2 hour

...and now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Whittlin’ Jim did a few Northwestern slides and I think this design is one of the best!

Doing some research on Northwestern Totems I came across this page as a good reference TOTEM POLES OF THE GREAT NORTHWEST
Though I’m really not sure what animal it depicts, I really like the lines on this slide!

Whittlin’ Jim called for a crooked knife for this slide but I found a straight blade and lots of small cuts were call for on this slide. Carved from maple, and finely sanded, I really hated to paint this slide. The Maple would have looked great with a redwood stain but staying true to form it is painted with craft paints and given a couple of poly.

The Ladies Tea

Mid June 2011

Time to carve: 1.5 hours
Finishing: 1 hour

While technically not a slide, I needed to find something for my mother-in-law to bring back to my niece (especially when I had carved a slide for her brother.) “So what are Emmy favorite things”, I asked. After thinking about it for a few minutes, she came up with the Ladies Tea. What is a Ladies Tea you ask, well I can’t begin to describe it but I found a good description on another blog The Small Town Mom

“Each year we enjoy a luncheon and tea while all of us ladies talk followed by an inspirational speaker. The speaker is usually a member of the church or closely related to a member and they never disappoint. They always find a way to make you take a step back from reality and remember what is really important!”

A tea cup it was! One of the smaller projects I have worked on, made from maple for strength, it is another design right out of my imagination. With the exception of the spoon, which was glued on after, this is made from a single piece of wood. Painted with craft paints and finished off with poly. A small eye hook was screwed into the top so it could be made into a charm on a necklace.

wolf

Mid June 2011

Time to carve: 2.5 hours
Finishing: 2 hour

So recently my mother-in-law was visiting and telling me how much my Nephew was enjoying being a Cub Scout and was going to be in a Wolf Den this year. Mathew is a big fan of my slides and has mentioned to his mom how much he likes certain slides. Ah…the perfect opportunity for a new slide.

I’d like to think the design was patterned after the Eastern Timber WolfEastern Timber Wolf as I have camped a few times in the Adirondacks but I have a sneaking suspicion the design in my mind is more based out of Hollywood. Carved from maple, the basic design originally looked more like a fox until I folded the ears back a bit and moved on to the fur. A dark red fur seemed like the right choice for this and I used a method I had use with a Whittlin' Jim pattern Little Stinker. Instead of coffee grounds, I used tea from a K-cup. It was a very fine tea and all I had to do was sprinkle it on the glued surface of the slide. I added some white plastic teeth made glued in place. The eyes were round pins and the ears and mouth painted with craft paints. A couple of coats of poly finish it off.